"The Celestial Dragons, those scum, all deserved to die."
Gion's resentment toward the World Government intensified sharply as she realized her warship simply could not go any faster. She was consumed by worry for Elior. If a Celestial Dragon were standing in front of her right now, she would burn them to death without hesitation. Elior had granted her the power of the Flame-Flame Fruit without any side effects, and she prayed that nothing would happen to him. The sight of seawater surging thousands of meters into the sky and the sound of earth-shattering explosions in the distance terrified her.
Back at the epicenter, the seawater had not yet fallen back to the surface. In their previous clash, Elior and War Ghost appeared evenly matched, though Elior had not yet used his full strength. The aftermath of the explosion shook the vast sea in every direction. While seawater filled the sky, not a single drop touched Elior; he used a spatial barrier to isolate himself completely. In contrast, War Ghost's entire body was drenched.
Elior was the first to charge, appearing in front of War Ghost in the blink of an eye. Yoru slashed downward while War Ghost raised his spear to counter. The surrounding sea surface shook violently once again. War Ghost's spear nearly flew out of his hands, and his legs were forced halfway into the seawater. He was completely suppressed by Elior's downward assault.
War Ghost's face was filled with rage. In Elior's eyes, he was nothing more than a mindless madman, a mere killing machine.
"It seems you're no match for me. Or is this really your strongest state?" Elior mused. "But can a monster like you even understand human speech?"
Above Yoru, a massive thunderstorm erupted. Two billion volts of lightning washed over War Ghost's body. Even with his terrifying defense, his skin began to tear apart under the assault. Elior remembered Vegapunk's warning that this creature could absorb attacks, but he had a theory: if the body was a container, it had to have limits.
War Ghost let out a pained roar. A violent surge of energy exploded from his body, crushing the sea surface into a massive circular crater and blowing Elior backward. Though the shockwave did not injure him, Elior felt a brief sting of pain. At this moment, the War Ghost felt even more dangerous. Crimson lightning arcs danced across his body and his long hair whipped wildly like a demon. His Conqueror's Haki was fully unleashed, wrapping around his body. This monster possessed the will of a king, yet he was still nothing more than a lunatic used as a tool for Imu's will.
A deafening roar echoed through the heavens as the sea exploded once more. War Ghost charged toward Elior, the shockwaves from his feet shaking the ocean for hundreds of meters. If this had been land, the island would have collapsed long ago. All marine life within hundreds of kilometers had already fled. Only the Sea King overlord watched from afar, knowing that even the strongest of its kind could not withstand the shockwaves of this battle.
War Ghost attacked again. His flesh, torn moments ago, was already regenerating at an astonishing speed. Elior swung his blade in a slashing attack infused with Conqueror's Haki and 2.5 billion volts of lightning. A roaring dark-red thunder dragon formed in midair, swallowing the War Ghost whole.
Another earth-shattering explosion erupted, creating a colossal crater more than ten kilometers in diameter. Its center plunged thousands of meters below sea level. War Ghost's body was severely damaged, yet it continued to regenerate even as it broke apart.
Elior descended from the sky and clamped his right hand directly onto War Ghost's face.
"Trying to heal?" he asked coldly. The seawater about to crash down suddenly froze solid, as did the water beneath War Ghost's body. In Elior's grip, massive lightning storms and Honkai energy were unleashed continuously. The War Ghost's regeneration could no longer keep up with the rate of destruction.
War Ghost howled endlessly. Elior seized his left arm and tore it off with brute force, then grabbed his head and smashed it into the ice. This was no ordinary ice, but a surface reinforced with Armament Haki, making it harder than steel. Elior struck again and again, blood splattering everywhere. The War Ghost continued roaring in a state of boundless rage, but Elior showed no intention of stopping, pouring out his violent power without restraint.